Should Michigan Fire Rich Rodriguez?

Should Michigan Fire Rich Rodriguez?

Should Michigan Fire Rich Rodriguez?

Michigan lost to an abject Penn State team when they were coming off a bye week. The Wolverines dropped to 5-3, 1-3 in the Big Ten. They nearly lost to Notre Dame, Indiana and I-AA UMass. They have probable losses to Illinois, Wisconsin and Ohio State remaining on their schedule. A win against Purdue is no given. They could conceivably finish 5-7, repeating their disastrous slide from last year. Should Rich Rodriguez be fired? It depends how you phrase the question.

Defense has been the bane of Rodriguez’ tenure. He inherited a unit that finished 24th in total defense. That fell progressively to 68th in 2008 and to 82nd in 2009. The 2010 group is currently ranked 106th. Rodriguez is an offensive coach. He cedes control of the ball’s other side during games, but the poor communication and philosophical inconsistency that have plagued Michigan’s defense is largely his fault.

Rodriguez brought in his own defensive assistants in 2008. He hired Scott Shafer from Stanford to coordinate them. The situation became untenable. The assistants mutinied. Rodriguez overthrew Shafer’s defensive scheme for the 3-3-5 he ran at West Virgnia. Shafer resigned at the end of the season. Shafer went to Syracuse, who had the 37th best defense in 2009 and currently have the 13th ranked group.

Greg Robinson replaced Shafer for the 2009 season, after going 3-25 in the Big East with Syracuse. He took on the same assistants. That season was a greater debacle. Rodriguez again overthrew Robinson’s scheme for the trusty 3-3-5, but kept Robinson to run it. Robinson is naturally conservative. The 3-3-5 requires aggression and blitzing. The match has not worked. Robinson may not have done much better given free reign, but he was never given the chance.

Rodriguez appointed one of his infamous “quality control assistants” to linebackers coach when Jay Hopson left for Memphis rather than opting for experience and recruiting ability. He has left his good buddy Tony Gibson in charge of the secondary and the special teams. Both units are among the worst in Division I.

Michigan’s defense lacks depth, talent and experience, but the framework Rich Rodriguez constructed exacerbates each weakness. The performance is directly and ultimately his responsibility. He has held the tiller for every facet of this team’s demise. If it’s time to roll out the guillotine, he should be the first man detained. There’s a coherent case to fire him. That does not mean it’s the wise decision.

Rodriguez was hired for his offense. The offense is flourishing. He has recruited speed guys from Florida. He has cultivated a mobile, athletic offensive line. He has three quarterbacks who can play in his system. While not functioning at full capacity, they are still producing 520 yards per game. Any head coaching change now risks attrition and transfers on offense, possibly Denard Robinson.

Michigan needs a coach who gives them the best chance to win immediately, but also has a coherent vision for the program’s future. Progress is not enough. It must be progress toward an eventual goal, consistently competing for a Big Ten title.

Right now, the best chance for that outcome is keeping Rodriguez, on the condition that he cleans out his current defensive staff, hires a competent coordinator and allows said coordinator the autonomy to hire his own staff and enact his own scheme. Stability and a modicum of success on defense would allow Michigan to recruit and keep the kids they do recruit from transferring. If the defense can improve from abysmal to mediocre or even moderately bad, Michigan will win games.

Michigan should only fire Rodriguez if there is a replacement worth the patience for another, not necessarily as traumatic, rebuilding project. The only name on that list may be Jim Harbaugh.

There are reasons for Harbaugh to come to Michigan. He is an alum. He could double his salary. The Big Ten is better suited for his pro-style power attack. He would have no ceiling. If he raised the Wolverines back to Schembechler-level, he would be a god. There are reasons for Harbaugh not to come to Michigan. Michigan’s program disowned him a few years ago. He could triple or quadruple his salary in the NFL. Harbaugh being a good fit would depend on how seriously he wants to stay at Stanford and where his ultimate ambitions rest.

Rodriguez’ loss to Penn State was crucial. It would have made Michigan bowl eligible. It would have halted the negative momentum and 2009 redux talk. Now, even if Michigan beats Purdue, the most likely finish is a 5-6 FBS record, 2-6 in the Big Ten. Even with the electrifying efforts from the offense this season, it’s hard to claim that is progress. If Rich Rodriguez wants to ensure his return next season, he better get his A into G.

Comments

Holy Shit. Does Rich Rod have a say in what gets posted on here? Every damn week it seems like.

Garland Greene

Is that Maggs’ music?

VladimirCrouton

Wayne Fontes

http://tunagolf.wordpress.com/ TheRealAC

he looks so confused in that picture

http://www.illpolo.com RolloTomassi14

I stopped reading after the first word. Sunnyside, any thoughts on the finish at Talladega?

The Bulldog

Ron Zook > Rich Rod

/3rd year in a row coming up Saturday
//now I see why Meth-io St fans harp on this, it’s fun

http://twitter.com/#!/JHScramble Jim Harbaugh Scramble

I was wondering when the daily bitch-again post was coming.

http://www.wakarusa.com/ KC Resident

Michigan! They sure do get a lot of posts for being completely irrelevent.

/Peaks around curtain.

Here comes Maggs!!!

irishmafia

Big 10

http://tigerwoodsfistpump.blogspot.com s1rweeze

So… Topps is letting you vote on their 10 best cards ever. If Rickey Henderson isn’t your #1, I don’t know what to tell you. Coolest card ever. But the rest of the selection blows. 80 billion Mickey Mantle cards? One card from the awesome looking ’72 set?

http://twitter.com/#!/JHScramble Jim Harbaugh Scramble

Ron Zook > Rich Rod

/3rd year in a row coming up Saturday

you sir are correct. Illini should win convincly. I think I might empty the CS accound on it.

coop247

Right now, the best chance for that outcome is keeping Rodriguez,

The rest of the B10 supports this.

Michigan’s defense lacks depth, talent and experience,

And an offense that puts them on the field for 40 minutes a game, but that irrelevant.

Sunnysideup

[Gravatar image]

I stopped reading after the first word. Sunnyside, any thoughts on the finish at Talladega?

Wish they could have raced back to the line but that a.j. had to flip his car over. Pretty good race. Wish Jimmie would have gotten in the big one so Denny could have gotten the points lead and had some distance. I still think Denny wins it by about 20 points.

http://www.barstoolsports.com cracker jack

So, so very long.

http://twitter.com/ButtersBC ButtersBC

Beating the Badgers and ruining their season will save his job for another year

Sunnysideup

you sir are correct. Illini should win convincly. I think I might empty the CS accound on it.

Illini by 17. Should be plenty of Illini fans there to.

irishmafia

twss cj

Duder678

got about halfway and saw it wasnt ending anytime soon

irishmafia

is Maggs banned? he left a nasty comment towards Duff Mon morning.

/pours one out for pubic hair wig

http://www.majorleaguejerk.com/ spencer096 blues explosion

Michigan’s defense lacks depth, talent and experience,

And an offense that puts them on the field for 40 minutes a game, but that irrelevant.

+1

http://www.illpolo.com RolloTomassi14

I still think Denny wins it by about 20 points

I say Johnson wins his fifth by about 20 points. With Harvick finishing second and something going wrong for Hamlin in the last three races.

http://twitter.com/#!/JHScramble Jim Harbaugh Scramble

And an offense that puts them on the field for 40 minutes a game, but that irrelevant.

enough with the TOP, it is an extremely overrated stat. oregon is 115 out of 120 teams in TOP and they still manage to have a top 35 total defense.

Michigan’s defense doesn’t suck because its offense scores quickly it sucks because it is poorly coached and lacks talent.

http://laugh-o.blogspot.com starkweather

The Big Ten is better suited for his pro-style power attack.

It seems to be working pretty well in the Pac 10. Why is the Big 10 more suited for it? And what is the ceiling at Stanford? Go undefeated in the regular season in the Pac 10 and you’ll probably be playing for the NC, which seems more likely to me than going undefeated at Michigan. The only advantage Michigan offers is the $$$

http://spartyandfriends.com sparty

He’s getting fired. regardless of how the rest of this season goes. especially if they can land harbaugh.